Page 19 of The Dramatic Life of Jonah Penrose
“Why the hell would I do that?” Jonah took up a similar position beside him and looked down into the murky water. “What would I even say?”
“I don’t know, just be nice or whatever.”
“Fine.”
“Fine.”
Dexter cocked his head slightly to look at him. “I’m guessing from your disastrous love life this isn’t going to cause any problems with any relationships you have?”
Jonah paused. He hadn’t considered how this would look to people he knew or if it might impact hisactuallove life, or lack of it. “No,” he mumbled.
“Me neither.” He continued to peer at Jonah. “You look tired. We should head back to the theatre so someone can sort your face out.”
Jonah forced himself to bite his tongue. Retaliation would be futile; the guy was an absolute arsehole, and even Dexter’s delicious-looking lips did nothing to soothe the rage burning in Jonah’s chest. For, what good were kissable lips if they belonged to a bell end?
Jonah found himself engulfed by the whirlwind created by Dexter. The man knew how to work a crowd; he devoured the applause and charmed his fans at stage door. People queued up to speak with him and showered him with gifts while the other cast looked on, slightly jealous, but more relieved they could sneak off to get the earlier train home with little blowback. Onstage, Dexter kissed Jonah softly, like he’d been sculpted out of glass, and moved during the bows to stand beside him, their palms pressed together, fingers intertwined. Outside the theatre, Dexter wrapped his arm around him and together they smiled for photos and gushed to the fans about each other, nothing but praise and the fakest of smiles.
They hadn’t talked again about Colbie’s insistence on kindness. Infact, Dexter said very little to Jonah when they weren’t masquerading outside the theatre or reciting their lines onstage. Jonah expected him and his gigantic head to saunter into his dressing room spouting off all the times Jonah didn’t hit his mark at the very millisecond he should have, or coming up with a convoluted plan to ensure that Dexter’s takeover as Hector would be as extravagant as possible. But Dexter shrouded himself in silence. Not that Jonah made any attempt to communicate with him either. Though he pondered texting him several times; he felt like a fish out of water, unsure of how he should act or what he should say. Their weird relationship had no lines, no blocking.
Despite their lack of communication, they saw a rise in social media interactions and general buzz surrounding the show. The charade dragged on for three more performances, and though they did nothing to suggest anything other than admiration and a respect for each other, the spark of a romance between them turned into a wildfire on the internet. Jonah knew the theatre community could be dedicated, but this was on a completely different level. It took less than a week for Dexah to become part of West End history, and Jonah wanted to scream; he wanted to be remembered for his work, not his suspected romance with the biggest dickhead he’d ever met. Dexter became borderline insufferable, literally pushing his way past Jonah on the way to the stage, talking over him whenever he saw the chance, and doing the loudest vocal warm-ups known to man outside of Jonah’s dressing room.
Even now, sitting beside him on a bright orange sofa in front of a microphone in some strange little makeshift recording studio in a room above a bar, Dexter annoyed him in ways he’d never experienced before. He tapped his fingers across his knees constantly and always licked his bottom lip like he needed to seduce whoever so much as glanced at him. He touched Jonah too much, always a hand on his arm as they talked with others or tapping him on the shoulder like a child in need of attention. Even his breathing pissed Jonah off. Too loud, too intrusive. He needed to do it for survival, of course, but Jonah wished he could be more subtle about how well his lungs worked.
“So, how has it been, returning to a show so close to your heart thisweek?” Jay, the host of theWest End Wonderspodcast, asked as she smiled over at Dexter, clearly caught in his flytrap charms.
Dexter placed his hand over his heart and let out a breathy sigh. “Amazing. Totally amazing. The show’s changed, obviously, since I last worked on it, but all for the better. And the cast, wow, incomparable. I can’t wait to work with them when I start properly.”
“Stepping in for Bastien Andrews last minute must have been nerve-racking. How did you manage taking on a role you’ve never performed before?”
“Oh, it was terrifying.” Dexter laughed. “But I was lucky to work so closely with Jonah, he totally held my hand through everything and made me feel relaxed the whole time. Patroclus was never a role I thought I would play, so it’s been fun stepping into his shoes for a few days.”
“Dexter took to it like he’d always played the role,” Jonah said, remembering he needed to praise the compliment vacuum beside him. “We were lucky he was available. The flu wiped out a huge number of our cast, and the show wouldn’t have been able to go on without him.”
Jay tucked a strand of black hair behind her ear and smiled at Dexter coyly. “Bastien is due to be on this evening. Will you miss being onstage?”
“I’m going to be at the show tonight watching and cheering Bastien on, then I’m back in a few weeks to be Hector, so, no, I don’t think so. I’m going to take the time to relax between rehearsals, to be honest. I don’t think people appreciate how intense it is being in such a well-loved show night after night.”
“And how has it been with the two of you?” she asked. “There used to be a lot of speculation within the theatre circles online that there may be some animosity between you over the role of Achilles?”
“I’m really not sure where people got that idea,” Jonah said. “The first time we met was for the photo shoot forThe Wooden Horse’s new program. Obviously, I knew of Dexter—I’d listened to him on the original-cast recording of the songs—but I didn’t know him personally. There was certainly no animosity from my side.”
“Well, there wouldn’t be from your side, would there?” Jay’s smile faltered slightly. “Because you got the role Dexter originated.”
“There was no animosity on my side either,” Dexter said, somewhat sternly. “People think there was this big competition between the two of us, but that wasn’t the case. I auditioned forTick, Tick... Boom!and got the role, so that’s what I did. There were never any plans for me to play Achilles on the West End.”
“It’s good to clear that up, especially as you now seem so close. I think everyone who considers themselves a theatre fan has seen the photos of you outside of the Persephone. It’s lovely to see cast members bond in such a way. Do you think you will be friends for life now?”
“Friends?” Dexter gave a laugh. “Sure,friendsfor life, right, Jonah?” He looked at him, his hazel eyes warm, something brewing there beneath them, but for what reason Jonah didn’t know. The podcast wasn’t filmed, his fond glances were for no audience.
“Sure, friends,” Jonah said, with a smile back at him.
Jay cocked her head as she took in their interaction. “So, I’ve had some listener questions, if you’re okay to go through them?”
“Sure!” Dexter beamed. “Throw them at us.”
“What is your favorite song to perform?”
“Oh, well, as Patroclus this week, ‘The Melody of Achilles and Patroclus.’ It’s a gorgeous song and captures the characters beautifully. As Hector, it has to be ‘Answer Me.’ It’s his big number after all.”
